EU takes cautious steps towards power standby regulation

LONDON  The Brussels, Belgium based European Environmental Bureau has welcomed the EU national governments' support for an EC proposal to reduce energy losses from the standby mode of electrical appliances for a broad range of products.

The proposed regulation would be the first within the Ecodesign of Energy-using Products (EuP) Directive, based on "implementing measures" designed to improve the green performance of appliances and ban the worst performing products from the EU market.

The measure proposes a tiered approach to cut energy losses during stand-by mode. Initially, the maximum level allowed for energy losses during stand-by will be 1 watt (or 2 W for stand-by mode with display of information) in the first year. In the second tier, this level will be reduced to 0.5 watt (1 W) in the third year.

The EEB said it regretted that this timeline could not be further shortened, "considering the best available technologies on the market today."

Doreen Fedrigo, EEB Policy Unit Coordinator, said : "We are pleased to finally see the EuP Directive delivering concrete results. This measure to cut energy losses from stand-by was long overdue and represents a clear, if small, first step toward greener products in Europe."

High levels of stand-by and off-mode are estimated to account for more than 10 percent of total electricity use in homes and offices in the EU. The EEB says an ambitious measure to limit stand-by and off-mode consumption could save up to 80 terra watt hours (TWh) of electricity per year in the EU (equivalent to the energy generated by 11 power stations).

However, the measure passed Monday (July 7) excludes half of the potential (so-called "networked" or "active" stand-by modes), but could still save 35 TWh of electricity yearly.

The EEB also welcomed the indications that a mandatory "hard-off switch" may be considered in future EuP measures; this would allow consumers to switch their equipment completely off, thus saving even more energy.

The adopted measure must now pass through European Parliament scrutiny before it can enter into force.